Urban Gardening For Dummies

Paul Simon is a nationally recognized landscape architect, public artist, horticulturist, master gardener, and urban designer. Charlie Nardozzi is a nationally recognized garden writer, speaker, and radio and television personality.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Conventions Used in This Book 2What You’re Not to Read 2Foolish Assumptions 3How This Book Is Organized 3Part I: Urban Gardening 101 3Part II: Gardening Basics 4Part III: Places and Ways to Garden 4Part IV: Growing Plants in the City 4Part V: Growing to Perfection 5Part VI: The Part of Tens 5Icons Used in This Book 5Where to Go from Here 6Part I: Urban Gardening 101 7Chapter 1: Gardening in the City 9Knowing the Basics of Soil Prep 9Finding the Many Places to Garden the City 10Growing All Kinds of Plants in The City 11Trees and shrubs 12Edibles 12Annual flowers 13Perennial flowers and roses 13Lawns and groundcovers 14Exploring the Down and Dirty of Growing 14Weeding and mulching 15Watering 15Pest patrol 15Chapter 2: Reaping the Benefi ts of Urban Gardening 17Enjoying Local Produce from Urban Food Gardens 18Looking at places to grow food 18Checking out urban food gardening projects 19Creating Healthy Cities 22Reducing pollution 22Making cities more livable 25Improving the neighborhood 26Chapter 3: The Urban Microclimate 27The Sunny City: Working with the Sun and Warmer Urban Temperatures 27Taking advantage of seasonal solar angles 28Dealing with solar glare 29Minimizing the Heat Island Effect 29The Windy City: Working with Seasonal Urban Wind Patterns 32Taking Macroclimate and Microclimate Conditions into Account in Your Garden 34Knowing your hardiness zone 34Considering your own microclimatic conditions 35Part II: Gardening Basics 37Chapter 4: Getting to Know Your Soil 39Determining Your Type of Soil 40Understanding the different soil types 40Figuring out what you have 41Checking Your Soil’s Drainage 42Performing a percolation test 43Mastering the metal rod test 43Discovering Your Soil’s pH Level 44Finding Out What Lies Beneath the Soil 45Doing a little digging (literally and fi guratively) 46Protecting yourself from soil contaminants 46Chapter 5: Feeding and Fertilizing Your Soil 51Organics 101: Plant Matter 52Adding a Little Something Extra to Build Soil Fertility: Animal Manure 54Making Compost and Growing Soil 56Composting safely in the city 56Choosing a container 57Building your pile 58Troubleshooting common composting problems 59Composting with worms 60Giving Your Plants and Soil a Boost with Fertilizers 62Getting to know the “big three” in commercial fertilizers 62Wet versus dry fertilizers 63Applying a side dressing of fertilizer 65Chapter 6: Getting Your Hands Dirty: Planting How-To 67Planting Annual Flowers and Veggies 67Starting with a raised bed 68Deciding whether to buy seeds or transplants 70Making a seed-starting schedule based on frost dates 71Growing your own seedlings 73Picking out transplants 74Planting your annual or vegetable garden 75Planting Trees and Shrubs 78Buying a tree or shrub 78Digging the hole and planting 79Getting your trees and shrubs off to a good start 82Planting Perennial Flowers, Bulbs, and Roses 83Buying and planting perennial flowers 84Buying and planting bulbs 84Buying and planting roses 86Part III: Places and Ways to Garden 89Chapter 7: Creating an Outdoor Room 91Analyzing Your Outdoor Space 92Fencing In Your Space 92Planning Your Outdoor Room 93Creating Your Garden Entrance 93Installing moon gates for a Zen-like feel 94Showing off your space with garden arbors 95Opting for other types of entry features 96Defining the Uses for Your Outdoor Room 96Creating a Focal Element 97Using a unique plant 98Creating serenity with a water feature 99Going with a man-made feature 100Turning Recycled Materials into Chic and Useful Garden Art 101Using yard sale items 101Repurposing materials (Reusing junk) 103Considering Interactive Garden Art 104A garden sundial 104Music in the garden 105Chapter 8: Containing Your Gardening 107Surveying Container Options 107Cool commercial containers 109Hanging, balancing, and other interesting containers 110Bathtubs, birdcages, bicycles, and more 111Selecting Soil for Your Container 112Planting a Container 113Prepping your pots 114Planting your containers properly 114Jazzing Up Your Containers 116Placing containers for visual interest 116Coordinating colors 117Cool container combos 117Taking Care of Your Container Plants 119Watering 119Maintaining your containers 120Moving containers 122Chapter 9: A Garden with a View: The Rooftop Garden 123Finding Out the Rooftop Gardening Basics 124Why grow up? Reviewing reasons for planting on the roof 124What’s your type? Choosing a green roof or roof garden 125How much is enough? Looking at your limits 126What’s next? Getting started and developing a plan 129Designing a Rooftop Garden or Green Roof 131Structural considerations: Making sure your roof won’t cave in 132Managing rainwater 133Deciding what to grow 135Planning electrical service and lighting 137Transporting materials 137Staying In Bounds with a Rooftop Container Garden 138Chapter 10: Going Vertical in Your Garden 141Discovering the Benefits of Growing Vertical 141Facing the Challenges of Growing Vertical 142Rethinking Your Space: Up, Down, and All Around 143Getting Plants to Grow Up 144Vertical structures: Providing a place to climb 144Growing vertical veggies and fruits 150Giving Containers a Lift 151Understanding the special considerations for vertical container gardening 151Choosing vertical containers 151Chapter 11: Apartment Gardens 155Balcony Gardens 155Using containers on your balcony 156Creating a picture frame garden 158Using flowerbox planters 159Indoor Gardening 161Creating an indoor herb garden 161Growing under lights indoors 163Practicing indoor plant care and watering 164Chapter 12: Community Gardening and Urban Farming 165Community Gardening 101 165A brief history of community gardening 166How community gardening works 167Starting a Community Gardening Program 167Selecting a site 168Developing your site 168Organizing the garden 169Managing the garden 169Urban Farming = Urban Renewal 169Benefits of gardening together 171Avoiding down zoning 171Marketing Locally 172Selling produce at farmers’ markets 172Participating in farm-to-school initiatives 172Selling to local restaurants 173Hosting harvest festivals 173Creating community gatherings and celebrations 173Sharing a Garden 174Gardening with roommates 174Volunteering for others 175Hiring out as an urban farmer 175Planting a row for the hungry 175Going from Pavement to Parks 176Reclaiming urban green space 176Creating urban parklets 178Part IV: Growing Plants in the City 179Chapter 13: City Setting, Country Food 181Making a Veggie Garden Plan 181Choosing a site for your vegetable garden 181Sizing up your garden: How big is big? 182Laying it all out 183Keeping Your Veggies Happy 183Feeding 184Weeding, mulching, and watering 185Raising the Top City Vegetables 185Leafy greens 186The tomato family: Eggplants, peppers, and other relatives 186Melons, squash, and other vining vegetables 188Root vegetables 189Peas and beans 190Cabbage, broccoli, and more 192Easy herbs 192Extending the Season 194Succession planting: Lettuce forever! 195Intercropping: The space between 195Protecting plants in cool weather 196Chapter 14: The Annual Flowering of the City 199Understanding Annuals 199Siting Your Annual Flower Garden 200Figuring out whether your garden cansupport sun- or shade-loving annuals 200Prepping and planting 201Considering color 201Thinking about texture and fragrance 202Growing flowers for cutting 203Growing Annuals in Containers 203Choosing Annual Flowers for All Seasons and Soils 205Cool spring and fall flowers 205Summer flowers 207Flowers for every soil 209Caring for Your Annuals to Keep a Continuous Flower Show 210Watering 210Weeding 211Fertilizing 211Deadheading 212Pruning 212Keeping them up 213Using Succession Planting to Maintain Your Annual Flowers 213Chapter 15: Perennial Flowers, Roses, and Bulbs in the City 215Getting to Know Perennials, Roses, and Bulbs 215Finding a Permanent Planting Spot 216Considering sun, soil, and exposure 216Going with containers 217Choosing Perennials Fit for City Living 218Sun-loving perennial fl owers 219Shade-loving perennial fl owers 221Growing and Maintaining Perennial Flowers 222General care and maintenance 222Providing a little extra support 223Divide and multiply 224Enjoying La Vie en Rose 224Selecting the best city roses 225Growing and caring for roses 226Lighting Up Your Garden with Bulbs 227Finding a spot for bulbs 228Finding the best spring flowering bulbs for the city 228Determining the best summer flowering bulbs for the city 229Caring for bulbs 229Chapter 16: Growing a Tree in Brooklyn 231Selecting City-Friendly Trees 231The best deciduous trees 232Evergreen tree options 234Growing Some Shrubbery 235Looking at ways to use shrubs in your yard 235Discovering some great city shrubs 236Keeping Your Trees and Shrubs Fit 239Watering and fertilizing 239Pruning 101 240Growing City Fruits 242Finding the best fruit trees for the city 243Keeping those tree fruits growing 244Keeping Berry Bushes in the City 245Choosing the best city berries 245Staying berry healthy 248Chapter 17: Lawns and Ground Covers 249Selecting the Right Grass 250Cool-season grasses 250Warm-season grasses 252Seed versus sod 253Caring for Your Lawn 255Looking at city mowers 255Mowing correctly 256Maintaining your lawn 257Patching up paradise 259Ground Cover Alternatives 259Lawns versus ground covers 259Cityside ground covers 260Planting and caring for your cover 261Part V: Growing to Perfection 263Chapter 18: Weeding and Mulching Your Plants 265Winning the War on Weeds 265Identifying weeds and knowing why you should care 266Stopping weeds before they’re a problem 267Controlling weeds once they’re large 269Mulching 101 269Types of mulch 270Mulching correctly 273Chapter 19: Watering Your Garden 275Conserving Water 275Knowing how much you need to water 276Using less water 277Harvesting Water 278Installing a rain barrel 279Utilizing gray water 279Creating a rain garden 280Delivering Water to Your Plants 282Hoses and cans 282Watering wands 282Trigger nozzles 283Soaker hoses 283Drip irrigation 284Sprinklers 286A few other watering methods to try 287Chapter 20: Controlling Urban Garden Pests 289Knowing the Good Guys 290Bringing in beneficial insects 290Attracting birds to your yard 291Encouraging bees to stick around 292Being Proactive to Control the Bad Guys 293Designing your garden to prevent problems 294Deciding whether you really have a problem 294Dealing with Insect Pests in Your Garden 295Know your bug 296Managing your pests without sprays 300Using safe sprays 303Spotting and Treating Diseases 304Knowing whether you’re really dealing with a disease 304Preventing damage in the first place 305Being aware of some common diseases 306Finding the safest sprays for diseases 308Critters in the Bean Patch 309Identifying animal damage 309Figuring out which common city animals to watch for 310Part VI: The Part of Tens 311Chapter 21: Ten Tools for Urban Gardeners 313Chapter 22: Ten Kid-Friendly Ways to Garden in the City 319Chapter 23: Ten Tips to Manage a Sustainable Urban Garden 325Index 331